Sunday, September 30, 2012

Feeding the Person Who Is Disabled

By Maria M. Meyer and Paula Derr, Contributing Writers

Tips for Feeding Your Disabled Loved One


  • Name the food being offered.
  • If the person plays with food, limit the choices being offered. (Playing with food occurs because a person is confused and unable to make choices.)
  • Check the temperature of the food often.
  • Be gentle with forks and spoons. (A rubber-tipped baby spoon may be helpful.)
  • Feed at a steady pace, alternating food with drink.
  • Remove a spoon from the person's mouth very slowly. If the person clenches the spoon, let go of it and wait for the jaw to relax.
  • Give simple instructions such as "Open your mouth," "Move your tongue," "Now swallow."
  • If the person spits food out, try feeding later.
  • If the person refuses food, provide a drink and return in 10 minutes with the food tray.
  • Between meals, provide a nourishing snack, such as stewed fruit, tapioca pudding, or finger foods.

Boosting Food Intake When the Appetite Is Poor


  • Offer more food at the time of day when the person is most hungry or less tired.
  • To increase the appeal of food for those with decreased taste and smell, provide strong flavors.
  • Use milk or cream instead of water in soups and cooked cereal.
  • Add fat by using butter, margarine, or olive oil on foods.
  • Add nonfat dry-milk powder to foods like yogurt, mashed potatoes, gravy, and sauces.
  • Tell the person to eat with his or her fingers if that is the only way to get the person to eat.
  • Offer milk or fruit shakes.
  • Offer pure'ed (finely ground) baby foods.

Eating Problems and Solutions


  • Drooling: Use a straw if possible; help close the mouth with your hand. (However, sometimes the use of a straw can cause choking if liquid touches the back of the mouth too quickly.)
  • Spitting out food: Ask the doctor if the cause is moodiness or disease.
  • Too much swallowing or chewing: Coach the person to alternate hot and cold bites.
  • Difficulty chewing: Change the diet to soft foods.
  • Difficulty swallowing: Put foods through a blender or food mill; avoid thin liquids and instead serve thick liquids such as milk shakes.
  • Poor scooping: Use bowls instead of plates.
  • Difficulty cutting food: Use a small pizza cutter or rolling knife.
  • Trouble moving food to the back of the mouth: Change the food's thickness and demonstrate how to direct the food to the center of the mouth.
  • Too dry or too wet mouth: Ask the doctor or the pharmacist if this is a side effect of medications.
  • Too easily distracted: Pull down the shades and remove the distractions.
NOTE: Difficulty in swallowing can cause food or liquids to be taken into the lungs, which can lead to pneumonia. Reduce the chance of food entering the lungs by keeping the person upright for at least 30 minutes after a meal.

http://www.caring.com/articles/stroke-feeding

"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Columbus, Ohio

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Columbus, Ohio area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Amlin, Clintonville, Columbus, Delaware, Dublin, Galena, Hilliard, Lewis Center, New Albany, Powell, Sunbury, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Worthington, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Columbus Home Health Care Company. "

Sunday, September 23, 2012

3 Creative Ways to Get a Loved One to Accept Help

By Paula Spencer Scott, Caring.com senior editor

Is your loved one resistant to having any kind of help from "outsiders" (often, anyone who isn't you)? Sometimes the person you're trying to help can be your biggest impediment to help!

Here are three strategies to get around that block:

1. Consider what kind of help the person traditionally made an exception for. So, for example, someone who never hired help but always followed the advice of clergy or a doctor might be open to hearing the need for certain kinds of assistance from one of these professionals. Or someone who grew up with cleaning help or a cook may be open to that kind of household help, which would at least free you up for caregiving chores.

2. Make the presence of help sound commonplace. Some people are more accepting if they know it's what their peers do: "Jane's parents have a maid, Mom" (even if that person is really a personal aide).

3. Appeal to prestige interests. Some people are swayed by exclusivity or impressive credentials: "This is the best neurologist/geriatric care manager/moving consultant in town, Dad." Or, "It usually takes six months to get an appointment with this doctor, but she has an unexpected opening and can see you next week."

http://www.caring.com/articles/get-loved-one-accept-help


"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Columbus, Ohio

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Columbus, Ohio area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Amlin, Clintonville, Columbus, Delaware, Dublin, Galena, Hilliard, Lewis Center, New Albany, Powell, Sunbury, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Worthington, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Columbus Home Health Care Company. "

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Caregivers' Concerns About Older Adults Driving -- and What to Do About It

Worried about an older adult's driving skills? You're not alone. Here's how to approach this sensitive issue.

By Connie Matthiessen, Caring.com senior editor

Are you worried about an older adult's driving?

Caregivers say that talking to an older adult about giving up the car keys is one of the most difficult -- and important -- tasks they face, according to a recent survey by Caring.com in partnership with the National Safety Council. The full survey results are available for download here (PDF). One fourth of the adult children surveyed would like to see their parents limit their driving; others wish their parents would stop driving altogether. Many caregivers also want to see some type of mandatory testing for drivers over a certain age.

If you're having trouble talking to a parent or older friend or relative about driving safety, you're not alone. People are living -- and driving -- longer than ever before. According to Caring.com expert Elizabeth Dugan, most drivers will outlive their driving ability by about ten years. Accident statistics bear this out: Elderly drivers have more accidents than any other group of drivers except teenagers.

Despite the urgency of the issue, when it comes to raising it with someone they're close to, many people hope to avoid the topic as long as possible. More than a third of adult children surveyed said they'd prefer to talk to their parents about selling their home, or even about their funeral wishes, than about giving up driving.

  • Before even broaching the subject, it's a good idea to consider the issue from the older adult's point of view.
  • You may also want to assess the quality of his driving.
  • You can give yourself a driving quiz to better understand the risk factors for older drivers.
  • Once you've assessed the situation, it's time to bring up the discussion, approaching it with a careful plan of attack (so to speak).
  • To prepare yourself for the conversation -- and to prevent it from becoming a battle of wills -- familiarize yourself with some of the inevitable back-and-forth dialogue that's bound to ensue.
Despite their dread of discussing driving, the survey shows that caregivers are deeply concerned about the driving safety of the person they're caring for -- and others -- and they either want the person to limit his driving or wish he'd stop altogether. Getting backup on the issue from a higher power is iffy, however: Some states require various forms of testing for older drivers, while many don't.

Look into driving laws, and help the person stay safe


Identify alternative transportation options

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing older drivers and their caregivers is the limited transportation alternatives for older adults. Over half of survey respondents said that public transportation wasn't available where their parents lived. A mere one in seven reported that public transportation would meet their parents' needs.

The fact is that for many older adults, giving up the car keys means increasing isolation and dependence. It's no surprise, then, that this is a subject both older drivers and those concerned about them would prefer to avoid as long as they can.
What you can do:

*About the Study: Interviewing for the Mature Drivers Survey was conducted online by Knowledge Networks among a national sample of 1,011 adults who had one or more living parent aged 65 and older, who still drive. Interviews were conducted April 15 through April 21, 2008. Members of the Knowledge Networks Internet panel were initially recruited by telephone to join the KN panel; panelists who were not online were provided with Internet access. The findings reflect a nationally representative sample of the target population.

"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Columbus, Ohio

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Columbus, Ohio area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Amlin, Clintonville, Columbus, Delaware, Dublin, Galena, Hilliard, Lewis Center, New Albany, Powell, Sunbury, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Worthington, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Columbus Home Health Care Company. "

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Power in Numbers: Alzheimer's Support Groups

Posted on Aug 30, 2012

When a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the following years for everyone involved can be a roller coaster of emotions. Some days will be great and feel like nothing has changed. Others will be heartbreaking and challenging. As a caregiver, you'll feel everything from anger to fear as your loved one goes through days of confusion and loss.

If no one you know has taken on the role of caretaker, you may feel alone at times.
An Alzheimer's support group is a great place to turn when you feel like no one understands what your life looks like and how you are feeling.  These groups offer participants psychological and emotional support, as well as the practical knowledge that they will need as a caregiver.  Support groups also give you a place to share stories, both hardships and successes, that only people who are familiar with Alzheimer's will truly understand.

One of the greatest benefits of an Alzheimer's support group is that it gives you a place to express the most difficult emotions. Not sure this is up your alley? We did some research for you, so check out these resources available from the Alzheimer's Foundation of America and see if a support group might be a helpful thing as you care for your loved one:

http://www.seniorhelpers.com/blog/2012/08/30/loved-one-lost/

"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Columbus, Ohio

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Columbus, Ohio area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Amlin, Clintonville, Columbus, Delaware, Dublin, Galena, Hilliard, Lewis Center, New Albany, Powell, Sunbury, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Worthington, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Columbus Home Health Care Company. "

Sunday, September 2, 2012

So Your Parent Wants to Move In With You -- Can You Afford It?

By Melanie Haiken, Caring.com senior editor

Recently I heard from Sarah, an old friend, about a hard situation she's in that I'm sure many Caring.com readers can relate to. Sarah's mother-in-law moved in with her and her family more than a year ago, and since then Sarah's had a really hard time dealing with her husband's siblings, who aren't helping out as much as they promised.

But what Sarah's finding even more stressful is that the expense -- both in direct costs and in time lost from work -- of having an elderly person join the household is much greater than she expected. And what really galls her? No one else in the family seems motivated to chip in. "This summer it really got to me," Sarah told me. "We were stuck here in the Midwest heat, working ourselves to the bone keeping up with our jobs and caring for mom, while my husband's sister's family went to the Bahamas, and his brother and his wife spent weeks at their lake cabin. They didn't invite their mom to join them, and it never occurred to them that we could use a vacation too."

The problem is, it's much harder to get situations like this straightened out after the fact, after expectations have gelled and things have settled into a routine. So here are some suggestions culled from elder planning experts for how to set up a working financial arrangement with siblings before your parent or other family member makes the move.

1. Create a "caregiving budget." Make a list of estimated expenses and determine how much the parent, the caregiver, and/or siblings will contribute. This budget should take into account the full cost of living for the family; not just food and transportation, but mortgage or rent, homeowners' insurance, utilities, etc. Many people make the mistake of thinking, well, I'm already paying this mortgage amount, so I shouldn't charge my parent for a share -- no. Even if your home is big enough that you don't have to make any changes to accommodate your family member, he or she should still share those basic expenses, unless there's really no money available. If not, resentments will arise down the line. Again, this may need to be made clear to siblings.

2. Figure out how much your parent can contribute. Sometimes, aging parents will have sufficient resources (possibly following the sale of their home) to pay the full cost of their care in your home. For example, if Sarah's mother-in-law sold a home before moving in with Sarah and her husband, that money could be used to contribute to Sarah's household. Sibling alert: This is an issue that must be discussed openly ahead of time. In many families, there's an unstated expectation from adult children that they will inherit the funds from the family home. I've heard more stories than you can believe of families where the family home is sold, and the proceeds set aside for future inheritance, while one sibling struggles to support and care for the now non-independent parent. That's not how it should work, experts say. All the siblings need to discuss and agree that the proceeds from the home are to be used for the parent's care during his or her lifetime. And if that care is in one sibling's home, the funds will last much longer than they would if they were used to pay for assisted living.

3. Calculate a fair contribution for the parent to make to household expenses. This is tricky, of course, and has to take into account both what resources the parent has, and what the cost of living is for that particular household. But here's a ballpark way to look at it: If an aging family member becomes part of what's now a five-person household, and the total monthly expenses for that household are $2,500, the new resident might contribute one-fifth, or $500.

4. Call on siblings to contribute. If an aging family member doesn't have resources to pay for his or her care, the siblings together should come up with a payment plan. Really -- it's only fair. If you figure it costs you $1000 a month to have your parent in your home, and there are three additional siblings, you could ask each for $250. Alternatively, your siblings might very reasonably decide that your time in caring for the parent is your contribution, and divide the $1000 three ways.
5. Keep track of additional costs and share those too. Food, housing, and utilities are only the start, and not realizing this ahead of time is one of the biggest stressors for family caregivers, as the costs begin to mount. If you're the one taking Dad to the doctor and picking up his medications, you'll be writing checks for co-pays and prescriptions. There will be special purchases to make and supplies, such as adult diapers. You may have to make changes to your home, such as putting bars in the bathroom or widening a door for a wheelchair. There may be transportation costs, or fees for services. Since you're Johnny-on-the-spot, these expenses will end up coming out of your pocket. Keep a running tab of caregiving expenses and send a regular tally to other family members, with their share indicated. One way to simplify the record keeping? Have a separate credit card and use the monthly bill as your record. If other siblings can't or won't pay their fair share on a monthly basis, you'll want to keep even more careful records, as you may be able to recoup your expenses from your parent's estate before it's divided up.

6. Don't be afraid to hire outside caregiving help and share that expense. Whether you work full or part time, or stay home, you may need to find adult day services, or a senior center that provides meals, or hire a caregiver a few hours a week, so that you have the freedom to take care of your other responsibilities. This is perfectly understandable; don't get stuck in the guilt trap feeling like you signed on to do it all. You may also need transportation for your parent to and from the senior center or day care center, and may need to pay for that, too. Discuss these arrangements with other family members ahead of time, so they don't feel blindsided, and see if there are other options. Another family member might, for example, choose to step in and have Mom come for a visit every Thursday rather than pay for adult day services, and that's fine. But if no one else can provide regular, continuous care you can count on, then you'll need outside help, and that's a shared expense.

7. What about being paid for your time? This one is pretty individual, and every family situation is different. But here's the bottom line: If you or someone in your immediate family has to quit work or cut back hours in order to care for your aging family member, then that lost income is a family-wide issue. Likewise, your time. If your parent needs a lot of day-to-day care that would otherwise be provided in an assisted living facility or by a caregiver, and it's you doing that work, your family needs to acknowledge that time spent, and its impact on the rest of your life. Maybe they'll want to spring for a caregiver, maybe another family member can step in for a few shifts, or maybe they'd prefer to pay you for your time. But no matter what, the contribution of the one doing the caregiving needs to be acknowledged. You can also look into being paid as a caregiver through Medicare.

Of course, if an older family member is already living with you, and some of this advice is hitting a nerve, it's never to late to revisit arrangements. Call a family meeting and be direct and honest. Explain that you're happy having your family member in your home, but there were certain details about how it would all work financially that you didn't know enough to consider at the time. Lay it all out for the rest of the family, and explain that things need to change. It helps if you've made a budget, kept track of expenses, and can demonstrate what is and isn't working. Remember, your siblings are getting off easy, here. All the work and responsibility for your family member's care is falling on your shoulders, not to mention the inconvenience, lack of privacy, and at least occasional frustration and irritation of having an elderly person in your space. So let them step up to the plate in other ways, so you feel supported. It's the only way to protect other family relationships from the stress and strain of resentment.

http://www.caring.com/articles/parent-wants-to-move-in

"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Columbus, Ohio

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Columbus, Ohio area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Amlin, Clintonville, Columbus, Delaware, Dublin, Galena, Hilliard, Lewis Center, New Albany, Powell, Sunbury, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Worthington, and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Columbus Home Health Care Company. "